WorkOut to Happiness
by Jo-Gaby
Summary: Just something I thought off. It can be just an one-shot or it can be a full story (I have plenty of ideas). Let me know if you want me to continue. kisses :) "Emma was tired of having nothing to do in a small town. Then comes a surprise gift, a workout and voila. :)"
1. Chapter 1

Surely it's not good to be staring at the phone waiting for a call, not when you're a sheriff and the phone is the one people use to report problems (you know, usually BAD things...). Yep, it's definitely not a good thing to be doing, but Emma was just so bored! Nothing new ever happens is StoryBrook, and while she was happy to be raising her kid in such a lovely and secure town, it sure was driving her crazy... She doesn't know how David does it, always happy and cheerful every time he comes to work, no matter the shift. But then again True Love must make you happy every time, because since David and Mary Margaret met, she never saw them sad or mad (but True Love isn't for everyone...)  
Emma was awaken from her train of thought by the ringing of the phone, and she sighed has she picked up the station phone and realized it was her cell phone that was ringing.

"Hello?" Emma answered  
"Emma, Happy Birthday!" An overly excited Ruby screamed  
"Birthday?" Is it my birthday? What day is it?  
"Yes Emma..." Sighed Ruby in a 'I knew you would forget' kind of way "I can't be the first person to have wished you a happy birthday!"  
"Just ...wait a second" Emma asked as she put the phone on speaker and scrolled through her messages, and sure enough, there were plenty of them, from Mary Margaret, from David, from Regina and a couple from town people.  
"Actually, you weren't Ruby, but I haven't seen the texts until now" Emma answered as she cringed internally. Being in the foster system had a way to make you hate your birthday and all the other holidays. It was better now that she had Henry but her birthday was still a sore spot.  
"Henry has not given you his present yet?" Ruby asked astonished  
"No, I had an early shift because Neal is sick, so David had to go home earlier. And once today is a Saturday Henry went to sleep at Regina's so he could sleep in a little" Emma said, but actually, thinking about it he said he had a big surprise for her before she dropped him at Regina's yesterday...  
"Oh ok, that explains it... But anyway, dinner at Granny's tonight!" Ruby commanded  
Emma started to complain, but was quickly cut off by Ruby "I'm not taking a no for an answer. I already made plans with everyone so don't even think about it..."  
"Fine, but I don't want a big thing okay? " Emma asked  
"It would be just the gang, I already talked to Mary Margaret and she found a babysitter for Neal because he doesn't have a fever anymore and David will direct the call to his phone because he is technically on duty tonight. Is all arranged so don't worry about a thing! Just show up at Granny's at 9pm, ok? Now, I have to go cause Victor is making me pancakes... Bye" and then she hung up.  
Typical... It was her birthday, but Ruby was the one receiving pancakes while she was here dying of boredom... Not that she wanted anything for her birthday, but sometimes she wished she would have someone to make this little things for her, that wasn't her eight year old son. She shook her head to stop her thoughts, she had Henry and a crazy family of friends and that was all that mattered. She wasn't happy like Mary Maragaret and David but she was content with her life.  
She went home after her shift ended at 6pm and ran straight into the bathroom. Emma needed some relaxing bath to take the stress from her day, away. (They really needed to find a deputy for the station, even with nothing happening besides some missing cats or petty theft, they needed someone at the station 24/7 and just David And her wasn't enough). She filed that thought for latter as she stepped into the warmth of the bathtub. Henry was going with Regina to Grany's so she only had to worry about getting herself ready. She had to give Her son's Godmother a gift for making sure her son was okay when she went to work.

When she got here 9 years ago, 5 months pregnant with a child, she was so lost and broken, she didn't know what to do... Being a single future mother, sleeping in a room above granny's and paying rent by washing the dishes wasn't the ideal scenario, but after everything that went down with Neal (Henry's father, not David's son... coincidence that Mary Margaret's late father was named Neal) she wasn't really in the right mindset. That, until the day she met Regina. It was a rocky start when Emma went to serve a coffee to a costumer and accidentally spilled some on Regina's blouse. No matter how many apologies Emma said, the other women went crazy and started calling all sorts of names at Emma, who put professionalism on the side and answered in the same way. They hated each other for a month until they both stayed trapped inside Grany's late one night because of a blizzard and they started to argue again which lead to Emma asking what was so wrong in Regina's life to make her such a bitch! After all, she was rich, beautiful and was the mayor... That's when she found out about her fiance Daniel, that died in an accident with a horse, not long before Emma got to town. They tried to have a baby even before the wedding because they were so in love. But when Daniel died all dreams of ever having a happy ending went down the drain and Regina closed herself to happiness. After hearing her story Emma felt compassion towards Regina and shared her own story. How she was found at the side of the road, how she lived in the foster system, having her belongings in a trash bag like she wasn't worth more than that, how she ran away when she met Neal and he promised her love and a home... She told her how she was so naive that she believed Neal when he said his business were legit (even when her laying radar told her otherwise...) How he ran away after a deal gone wrong and the cops suspected her, how she found out she was pregnant while she was being held in police custody and how she decided to keep the baby anyway because he was the only family she ever had...  
In the end they were both sobbing and drinking hot cocoa.  
After that day, Emma became nicer to Regina who surprisingly enough wasn't that bad once you stayed on her good side.  
When Emma was 8 months pregnant Regina almost forced her to go live in the mansion until she had some stability. Once Henry was born, both women changed completely, Emma now finally had someone who she loved unconditionally and Regina had a nephew to make her forget about everything that went wrong in her life.  
Even Emma's job was thanks to Regina, who pull some strings to make Emma's record disappear so she could apply for a job as a deputy. And when Gramm, the local sheriff died with a heart attack, Emma was the best qualified for the job.  
When the time came, she couldn't choose someone else to be Henry's Godmother.

She got to Granny's five minutes late. Locking throughout the window, she saw that her son and her friends were already inside laughing at something David said. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and went inside.  
"Happy Birthday Emma" all of them shouted when she arrived at the table  
"Thanks guys" Emma said, trying her best to look happy so she wouldn't disappoint her friends  
"Hi mom, how was work" Henry asked with a smile from ear to ear  
"You know, the same. Nothing happened... And you kid? How was the night at Regina's?" she said  
" Oh, it was so cool mom. We ate pizza and saw the last three Harry Potter movies and then Regina and I wrote a spell for your present... Ups I wasn't supposed to say that yet" he said face bright read as everyone started laughing.  
Making eye contact with Regina, Emma mouthed 'Thank you' to which Regina replied with a simple nod.  
"Once Henry is so anxious to give you his present, I think we should start giving you our presents" Mary Margeret stated. "This is from David, Neal and I" Mary Margeret said as she gave Emma a rectangular shaped present.  
"Thank you guys" Emma said when she saw a photo, from Neal's baptism with a smiling Emma with Neal on her arms and Henry by her side, on a silver frame.  
"This one is from me" Henry said has he gave her an envelope with a paper inside that said 'Recepy to find True Love'  
"Thanks kid, but I already have my One True Love since you were born" Emma replied kissing her kid  
"That doesn't count mom" Henry said as he shook his head

"Happy Birthday Emma" Regina smiled has she She got to Granny's five minutes late. Locking throughout the window, she saw that her son and her friends were already inside laughing at something David said. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and went inside.  
"Happy Birthday Emma" all of them shouted when she arrived at the table  
"Thanks guys" Emma said, trying her best to look happy so she wouldn't disappoint her friends  
"Hi mom, how was work" Henry asked with a smile from ear to ear  
"You know, the same. Nothing happened... And you kid? How was the night at Regina's?" she said  
" Oh, it was so cool mom. We ate pizza and saw the last three Harry Potter movies and then Regina and I wrote a spell for your present... Ups I wasn't supposed to say that yet" he said face bright read as everyone started laughing.  
Making eye contact with Regina, Emma mouthed 'Thank you' to which Regina replied with a simple nod.  
"Once Henry is so anxious to give you his present, I think we should start giving you our presents" Mary Margeret stated. "This is from David, Neal and I" Mary Margeret said as she gave Emma a rectangular shaped present.  
"Thank you guys" Emma said when she saw a photo, from Neal's baptism with a smiling Emma with Neal on her arms and Henry by her side, on a silver frame.  
"This one is from me" Henry said has he gave her an envelope with a paper inside that said 'Recepy to find True Love'  
"Thanks kid, but I already have my One True Love since you were born" Emma replied kissing her kid  
"That doesn't count mom" Henry said as he shook his gave Emma a Spa voucher "  
"Happy Birthday" Regina said has she handed Emma a Spa voucher "You need a good massage and I'm going with you to make sure you relax" Regina said before Emma could complain  
"And this one is from me" Ruby announced and gave Emma a black printed paper  
"What is this?" Emma asked confused  
"That my friend is a gym membership" Ruby stated  
" We have a gym in StoryBrooke?" Emma asked  
"It just opened near the docks and I heard it has the most amazing Kickboxing class with a really hot teacher. And since you need to kick some ass to alleviate stress you have to go" Ruby explained  
In normal circumstances, Emma would argue she didn't need no class to relax, but she was really bored in the last couple of months and maybe that would be good for her to release some energy.  
"Thanks Ruby" she said sincerely and laughed at the astonished look of everyone at the table "Ruby is right, I have to release some Energy" Emma explained.  
Dinner went by as normal and even singing Happy Birthday didn't freakmma out like it usually did.

Once home Henry wouldn't go to sleep until Emma cooked whatever he and Regina invented "It's not made up. We saw it in a magic book from Regina's great great grandmother. She was a witch! And it has to be today because it's a lunar eclipse" Henry ranted  
It was a surprisingly easy recipe, just some herbs she used for cooking, some essential oils, a strand of her hair and a crazy list of male qualities that she and Henry made up. After they burned it, she finally convinced Henry to go to bed.

Monday afternoon Emma decided to go to her first kickboxing class while David was at the station and Henry was in the Library.  
The still new smelling gym was almost empty, probably due to the fact that most people were still at work. She headed to the locker room and saw a group of five women getting dressed and gossiping about how hot the teacher was. Emma shook her head to herself 'poor housewives that have nothing better to do than come to a class just to check out the teacher, that probably wasn't that hot...'

Emma was wrong! Oh so wrong! She thought as she stepped into class... The guy was HOT! Raven black hair, piercing blue eyes and a killer body.

"Afternoon lasses" he greeted  
'Great, he has an English accent too...' Emma thought  
"I see some new faces, " he said "I'm Killian and I'm the instructor of this kickboxing class. So let's get started."  
The class wasn't overly difficult, Emma was in a good shape and kicking was something she was used to doing back in the day when she was training to become a deputy, but it was a good class to release some stress.  
When it was over Emma was finally relaxed, cleaning her sweaty face and her drinking her water  
"Those were some mean punches you were throwing" an English male vkickboxingd her.  
Emma turned to face Killian much more close that she was expecting  
"Comes with the job I guess... " she replied "Sheriff Swan, nice to meet you" she introduced extending her hand  
He took it and Emma felt a shock the moment their hands touched. He felt it too, she could tell by the blush appearing on his cheeks.  
"Nice to meet you too Sheriff" he replied  
"You can call me Emma" she insisted  
"Well, Emma, I can now say I feel much safer knowing that you're in my class. Sometimes I think I'm going to be attacked by those women." he stated with a smirk  
"Wow, you think you're so looking" Emma answered, struggling to keep a straight face  
"I prefer to think of me as a dashing rapscallion" he replied winking  
"Sure you do" Emma said, rolling her eyes. It was weird how they could banter like they knew each other for years.  
"So, Swan, what do you think of going out for a coffee after you shower?" He asked  
"Sorry buddy, but that is not going to happen. And right now I have to go pick up my son from the library" she answered  
"Sorry, I didn't knew you were married..." he said and Emma could swear he looked more than a little disappointed  
She couldn't resist, before she reached the door, she looked back and said "I'm not" and she walked to the locker rooms before she saw a genuine smile on his face.


	2. His everyone against me today?

It was Wednesday morning and Emma was enjoying her cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon, at Granny's while listening to Henry babbling about the fairy tales he was learning about in school, when a smooth male voice came from behind her

"Morning Swan, fancy meeting you here" the voice said

Emma's breath fastened ' of course it wouldn't take him long to find Granny's... It was the best coffee shop in Story Brook', turning her bench around, she found herself face to face with, a sparkling eyes and amazing smile, Killian

"Morning Killian" she shortly replied, noticing the way Henry was eyeing her and Killian.

Emma had yet to go to his class again. It wasn't that she was avoiding the hot man in front of her, or the way he looked at her like she hung the moon, or even the way she felt her stomach flutter everytime she look at him. She was just busy, okay?

"So Emma, haven't seen you in class, was it too much for you?" He teased, but the ego in Emma didn't like the implication that she couldn't take a basic kickboxing class.

"Actually, I found it too easy, I need something to relieve stress and that wasn't it, " she didn't realize the way she said it until she saw the smirk on Killian's face, oh no...

"I can think of a few things I could do to help you with that" he said in a suggesting manner

"Keep dreaming..." She replied, rolling her eyes

"What were you thinking Sawn?" He asked teasing "I was simply offering my services to give you some boxing classes. Maybe you would like to punch me around a little bit" he said

Emma wanted so much to take that smirk off his face (that or kiss it) 'No Emma, you want to punch it out, don't even think about kissing'

"Fine, you're right, I might enjoy that." she said without thinking

"Great, see you today at 3pm? Ok?" He said firmly

"Fine." she bit back. At that moment she could feel Henry getting restless

"Henry this is Mom's trainer at the gym. Killian this is my son Henry." she introduced

"Morning lad, nice to meet you" Killian said with such an affection that Emma felt her heart tug a bit.

"Nice to meet you too" Henry said "Do you like fairy tales?"Henry asked and Emma wanted to facepalmlm right there

"He is learning about them in school" Emma explained as Killian tried not to laugh

"Actually, Henry, I'm quite fond of Petter Pan" he explained

"Really? You like Petter Pan?" Henry asked shocked

"Aye, My favorite character is Captain Hook" he said very seriously

'Of course it is' Emma thought

"But Hook is the villain...!" Henry said appealed

"Is it really? I think is just misunderstood and that Pan is the real villain. I mean Petter is the one who comes to children's rooms at night and offers them a great life without any responsibility. He is like the strangers your mother says you shouldn't take candy from... And Hook could go away after losing his hand, but he stayed to stop Petter Pan and let the children go back to their parents" Killian argued like he was in a court

'Huh, he was kind of right.' Emma never thought about it like that before

"Okay" Henry replied, still processing what he heard

" Well, Henry, we have to go so you won't be late to school. Say goodbye to Killian" Emma instructed

"Bye Killian, you're cool" he said matter of fact

"You are pretty cool too lad" Killian replied with a smile "See you later Swan" he added

"Later Killian" she said as she walked away

At 3:05pm Emma showed up in the gym not wanting to seem eager, because she wasn't eager to have a one on one class with Killian, no sir, she was cool as a cucumber.

"Swan, great to see you haven't changed your mind." he said with an honest smile.

"I said I'd come, I came." she answered. "I'm going to change my clothes." she stated and headed to the locker rooms

When she got back Killian's back was facing her as he was punching the bag. Emma froze, watching as he moved, his back muscle flexing and relaxing, his legs jumping back and forward. Like he knew she was there he turned around caughting her staring. "Enjoying the show Swan?" He asked smirking

"Shut Up!" Was all her brain could form.

Killian kept on smiling as she walked next to him on the mat

"Okay, let's get started, " he said as he handed her boxing gloves

He directed Emma throughout a series of punches correcting her stance in several occasions, but Emma was actually enjoying the session. She had to admit that when Killian entered the 'professional mode' he was an excellent trainer.

In the end they spared a little, but Killian didn't held back like most would, and Emma hated to win by sympathy. So fighting with Killian was oddly relaxing.

"So, Swan, good enough for you" Killian asked when they were both drinking water

"That was a good workout" Emma admitted

"I have to tell you that if you ever want to quit being the sheriff you should go into boxing, you made me work harder than I'm used to with a student" he said honestly

"Careful or I may take your job" Emma said playfully

"Indeed, you could" she agreed

"Nah, I have to be a stable adult for Henry, that means a stable job" she stated

"Aye, Henry seems like a great lab" He said and Emma could tell he was being honest

"Yes he is" Emma agreed

"If you don't mind me asking, where is his father? " Killian asked and Emma's whole body tensed. Killian sensed that "I'm sorry it's none of my business, " he said looking down

"Maybe someday I'll tell you, but not now" Emma told him as he stood up

"So maybe we could go out for coffee one of this days" Killian offered

"We'll see. See you around Killian" she said and walked away

When she got home that night she found Regina, Ruby and Mary Margeret there. Regina wasn't surprising, because she had the Keys and would pick Henrique from school and take him home when Emmas was working a late shift (like today). However, Ruby and Mary Margaret had no reason to be there.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Emma asked carefully "is Henry okay?"she asked worried

"Everything is fine Emma" Mary Margaret said with a smile "sit down, we want to talk to you"

Emma frowned, but complied. Mary Margaret handed her what seemed like a school paper from Henry

"What's This" Emma asked, confused

"I asked all the kids to write an essay about their favorite fairy tale and their favorite character. Henry wrote This" Mary Margaret said

Emma read the essay and tried not to groan, there, in that piece of paper was the argument used by Killian This morning, about Captain Hook, with her son's Messy handwriting.

"It's an A+ essay, and I know Henry is really smart, but the all thesis behind This is so elaborate that I asked Henry where he learned that and he said it was your friend Killian. I was worried because you usually don't let people you don't know for a while, get close to Henry. So I talked to Regina when she came to pick up Henry. When Henry said you met at Granny's today we decided to go there talk to Ruby, who confirmed that you were there talking with a handsome stranger today"

"More like extremely hot" mumbled Ruby interrupting Mary Margaret

"That's it? You are here because I introduced Henry to my gym instructor?" Emma said surprised

" No, we are here asking why you didn't told us you had a crush on your 'gym instructor'" Ruby asked making Air quote motions with the term 'gym instructor'

"I have not!" Emma tried to lie, but for someone who could Spot a lie from a mile away, she couldn't lie to save her life

"Don't lie, it doesn't suit you" Regina stated

"Okay, I agree that he is handsome, but I don't know him for long enough to have a crush on him" Emma stated

" Okay, Emma you are right, but maybe you should give him a chance. We all know and Ruby confirmed that you had your walls, sky high when you were talking with him today" Mary Margaret said in a soft voice

" And the worse thing was that I could tell you were keeping them up on purpose, you feel an attraction for the guy and that scares the shit Out of you" Ruby finished

"And the fact that you let Henry close enough to have him explain some thesis about fairy tales, is proof enough that we are right" Regina said matter of fact.

"This is ridiculous, you all know that the only man I want in my life is Henry!" Emma stated

"That is a lot of weight to put on his shoulders Emma. It's not fair for him and for you. You deserve to be happy Emma. Not all men will hurt you like Neal did" Mary Margaret explained

"Just give This guy a chance. I have a good feeling about it" Mary Margaret finished

"Just think about it Emma. Henry obviously liked him, he wouldn't shut up about him all afternoon. And Henry is a good judge of character, just like you" Regina said

"Okay, I'll think about it" Emma said to stop the conversation

When they left Emma made dinner for Henry and her

"Mom, can I go to the gym with you tomorrow?" Henry asked

"Why?" Emma asked, stunned

"I liked Killian, I wanted to talk about more fairy tales with him. He is cool " Henry said, unfazed.

"I don't know if I'll go tomorrow" Emma said, trying to escape the conversation

"Well if you go, can I go with you? Please, pretty Please" Henry begged with those big doe eyes and she couldn't say no

"Okay, fine. If I go you can come, but you Will only watch and if Killian is Busy you won't bother him with questions. Okay, buddy?" Emma smiled at her son

"Okay, Mom. You are the best Mom ever" he said, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, I know"

Later, when she was lying in bed, her mind replayed the conversation with Regina, Ruby and Mary Margaret.

Maybe she should stop lying to herself and try to be friends with Killian

Just friends! She could do that right?


	3. What I know

Emma was kind of freaking out. And the thing was, she didn't know why…  
Okay, maybe she had an hint, she was walking to the gym with Henry by her side and the fact that she was letting her son come close to killing consciously, has making her anxious. The fact that she felt somewhat safe letting her little man close to the gym owner was unsettling and something that Emma wasn't used to.

"Mom, is everything okay?" Henry asked, probably sensing how tense Emma was.

"Yeah Kid, I'm okay. Just a little stressed, that's all" She said forcing a genuine smile to her son

"Oh 'kay then. Mom, did you notice that Killian has blue eyes, just like we wrote in the list of qualities?" Henry said and Emma had to think back to see what he was talking about. She then remembered the "Recipe for Love" and the list of qualities she would like in a man, and blue eyes was something that Henry insisted that she had to write because (and I quote)  
'Mom, every prince has to have blue eyes'. It wasn't nothing short of a coincidence; there is a lot of man with blue eyes.

"Yeah Kid, what a coincidence…" Emma said

"Maybe it's not a coincidence Mom, maybe the spell worked" Henry said excitedly

"Look honey, I don't want you to get your expectations sky high. Maybe the spell worked, maybe it didn't. Mom, doesn't know Killian Well enough to say, so I don't want you to be disappointed if it doesn't work. And I don't want you to be sad either okay? The only person I need to be happy is you kiddo! And promise that you won't tell Killian about the spell, okay? It's just between us, okay? Pinky swear?" Emma said extending her pinky that was quickly laced by henry's pinky

"Pinky swear" He answered with a toothy grin

Emma and Henry entered the gym to find Killian oiling up some sort of bicep strengthening machine.

Henry looked at her expectantly and she nodded letting him go to say hello to the other man. Killian said his hellos to the little boy and stood up, eyes searching for her until their eyes crossed. The blinding smile he gave her, made her heart skip a beat and without notice she was walking until she was standing in front of him.

"Hey! Are you busy? I know we didn't had anything planned, but I wanted to see if you were free to train" she said timidly "But I – we can come back later if you want…"

Killian shook his head keeping the smile on his face "No, I can train with you. It's kind of slow today anyway" he said gesturing to the rest of the gym.

He was right, a couple of joggers on the treadmills, a guy lifting weights and a teenage girl doing crunches on the other side of the gym.

"Okay then" she said turning to her son "Henry, go wait over there" she instructed pointing to the small couch with some magazines on the lobby "while mom goes and change, okay?" she directed Henry.

"Nonsense!" Killian interrupted her "let the lad stay here. I don't mind the company" said Killian .

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't even know what your policies are about kids in the gym, but Henry wanted to watch, so I brought him" , she said, feeling weird by the fact that she wasn't scared about letting her son stay here with Killian without her.

"Normally I don't like kids running around while their parents train. It's dangerous with all the equipment. But I don't mind to stay chatting with Henry. I keep an eye, and won't letting him do anything dangerous. I promise!" he said with determination on his eyes, like he was trying to show Emma that her son was safe with him.

"I know you won't" she said, making a shocked look appear in his eyes, at the confidence in her statement. And the truth was that her instinct told her that Henry was safe with him. Their eyes stayed locked on each other , until she sensed Henry looking expectantly at them.

"Okay. So, I'm gonna go change and Henry, be good okay?" She said before leaving them and walking to the locker rooms.

When she walked out, she spotted them over at the side of the boxing ring. Killian was standing in front of Henry who was sited at the side of the ring.

When she approached them, she heard them talking animatedly about the villains in the fairy tale world. They were so concentrated on the conversation that they didn't saw her until she was standing next to them. And boy , if the warmth in his eyes as he talked to Henry, didn't swell her heart.

"Should we start?" she asked and Killian noded.

"Henry, stay over here on the ground so you don't get hurt, okay lad?" he said sofly, following Emma onto the ring.

"He is such a smart lad" Killian stated while he wrapped Emma's hands.

"Yeah, he is" She said with a proud smile on her face "Thank you by the way. Your point of view about Captain Hook, earned him an A" she said watching a look of surprise cross is features, replaced by a shy smile.

"Glad to be of service" he said scratching his head and looking at the floor.

They spared for about half an hour, but Emma frequently caught herself admiring the way his muscles tensed and relaxed , the concentration on his features and the sweat gathering on his forehead.

"Wow, it was so cool" Henry said with excitement when they went to grab water. "Can I learn how to box mom" Henry asked expectantly "Maybe when you are older kiddo" Emma said spent as she headed to the showers letting Henry and Killian talking some more. While the hot water relaxed her muscles she couldn't stop from thinking that maybe being a friend to Killian wouldn't be that bad.

When she left, she found Killian once again talking happily with Henry, but this time they were both sitting cross legged on the mattress near the entrance.

Henry spotted her and quickly got up with a grin on his beautiful face.

"Mom!" He said once she came within hearing range.

"Can I come with you again? Killian said that he doesn't mind! And he didn't finished telling me stories about his boat! Did you knew he sailed?" Henry said, all in one breath.

Emma shot a surprise look towards Killian who just shrugged "No I didn't hon" Emma replied

"Henry, why won't you go ahead to the car? I'll be just behind" Emma said looking at her son and handing him the keys.

Once he left she moved towards Killian, who had an inquiring look on his face.

"What´s up lass?" he asked

"Do you still wanna go for a cup of coffee?"

\- ф -

It was 3pm next day and Emma wan in jitters. They had agreed to meet at Grannies at 4 o'clock, and Emma was sitting anxiously for David to come to the station. ' _Calm down Emma!'_ Her inside voice told her ' _It's not like it's a date… It's just coffee. Coffee between two, maybe, future friends… Don't make this weird'_ she thought as David walked in

"Hey Emma, how are things?" He asked referring to the station

"Same old. Mr. Parker locked himself out of his house, naked 'again'", she told him, grimacing at the still uncomfortable image "Mrs. Hamilton's cat decided to hike the tallest tree in the yard and the chicken out when it was time to come down. Nothing out of the ordinary" She explained.

"Mr. parker should stop walking naked around the house. Or stop going to get the newspaper without his keys" David said shaking his head with a smile on his face "You can go now Ems, I've got this" he stated.

Emma walked in at Granny's to find Killian already sited on a booth and by judging by his right leg going up and down repeatedly, she wasn't the only one who was nervous.

"Hi" She smiled sitting across from him

"Hi Swan" he gritted with a grin.

Granny saw her and came to give them coffees

"So, what made you take up on my offer?" Killian asked once they were alone.

"Look, I know that I was kind of harsh when we first met, but you seem like a good guy and I think we could make good friends" she said and a flash of disappointment crossed his features.

"I know you already guessed that I didn't had the best relationship with Henry's father, and maybe I'll tell you the story someday, but I have trust issues, guys specially. Maybe someday I'll be able to change that, but right now I can only offer you friendship" she explained, surprised to open up to him so frankly. And now she was feeling a bit nervous ' _What if he doesn't want to be friends? What if he thought she was damage goods? What if…'_ Suddenly Killian's hand were on top of hers, like he read her mind and was reassuring her.

"I would be honored to be considered your friend. I think it's not a privilege many have" he said with a smile. And he was right, must of her friends had to fight tooth and nails to get pass her walls. Relief flowed through her veins.

They continued to talk about small things.

Emma told him about Mary Margaret, David, Regina and Ruby, and she saw the sad smile he gave her at the mention of her friends.

It must be lonely to move to another country with no one you know. Loneliness was something that Emma knew all too well, so she made a mental note to introduce her friends to Killian.

Their hands forgotten on the table still touching, until Ruby came to refill their coffees, clearing her throat and giving a pointed look to their joined hands, sending them straight apart.

Once it was time to go, Emma, watched as Killian left before she went to the counter to say goodbye to Ruby.

"So, how was the date with celebrity boy?" Ruby asked, once Emma reached the counter. Emma gave her a confused look before replying "Not a date. We agreed to be friends. And why celebrity?" Emma asked

"You don't know?" Ruby asked surprised

"Know what?" Emma said

Ruby turned around to grab her iPad. She unlooked it and started messing around until she gave it to Emma. It was an YouTube Video. Her curiosity got the best of her as she pressed play. Her breath stuck watching Killian fighting a guy two times his size with a murderous look on his face. Killian's expression was one of pure concentration, fighting like it was a dance. Killian fought like he could predict all of his opponent's moves. In the end Killian won and the crowd went wild. After that Ruby showed her some news articles claiming that Killian was probably the best fighter of this generation. The news were almost the same, praising his moves and technique, until one day, three years ago it just stopped.

"How did you found this" Emma asked trying to process everything that she just saw.

"I Googled him, duh" Ruby said walking away to serve another costumer.

Emma was shocked and feeling a little guilty. If Killian wanted her to know about his past he would've told her. The fact that she read it on the internet made her feel like she was invading made her feel like she was invading his privacy somehow.

\- ф -

For the next couple of days, Emma contemplated whether to come clean to Killian about what she knew, or not. In the end, the answer was easy.

 **Hey, want to grab lunch in one hour? -E**

She texted him. Yes, friends texted and called, so it wasn't weird that they exchange numbers during coffee, the other day.

 **Loved to lass, but I'll need one hour and a half until I'm free. Have to give a fitness class in 15 minutes. Is it good for you? –K**

The answer came just a couple of minutes after she texted him.

 **Okay, let's meet on the bar on 5** **th** **, okay? –E**

 **No Granny's today? -K**

 **No, not today :) –E**

She didn't want to talk to him, in a place where they were regulars and couldn't talk freely. She especially didn't want to see Ruby trying to listen to their conversation. Emma loved her friend, but Ruby was too damn curios about everyone's love life, for her own good.

Even though Emma knew she had to tell him the truth, because it was the right thing to do, she was scared that he would be mad about her knowing things about his past (she knew she would be if someone went online and read her entire life story). It was even worse, because she was the one that got secretive when it came to her past.

The nerves only got worse by the minute. She arrived at the restaurant and ordered a glass of red wine to calm her nerves (she didn't work that afternoon, so she could have a glass).

He came in with a huge grin on his face. He was wearing dark jeans that fitted him perfectly and a black shirt tight enough to enhance his muscles. His hair was still a little wet, indicating that he had showered in a hurry to come meet her.

"Hi Lass, you look lovely like always" He said kissing her cheek (maybe it should be harder to get used to these European form of greeting)

"Hey. So how was class?" She asked trying to delay the dreadful moment

"Just some middle aged women trying to feel good about eating cheesecake for desert" he explained "But that isn't why you invited me here. Something is wrong, what is it?" He asked and Emma was both surprised and annoyed by how easy he could read her.

"Okay. So, first off I want you to know it wasn't my intention to stick my nose in something that is not my busyness" she said watching a frown appear on his face

"Swan, just spit it out already, you are making me nervous" he said reaching for her hand calming her down.

"Ruby Googled you! I didn't asked her to, or knew she did it, until she showed me some video on YouTube of you fighting in a professional fight. And she showed me some articles about how you were going to be the biggest fighter of our decade" She said all at once, watching him intensely.

"I'm really sorry! Once I read it, I felt like I was breaking your trust. I know what is like to have a past you don't want to talk about and you don't have to tell me anything. I just felt like you should know, that I know" She finished her little rant and felt relived for still having Killian's hand grasping hers. If he hadn't let her go so far, then maybe he wouldn't be mad at her.

Killian gave her a tight smile and a gentle squeezed before letting go of her hand.

"It's okay Swan. I mean it's not okay but it was not your fault. The information was out there, I knew someone would find it eventually. I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon." He said with a sad look in his eyes

"Look Emma, I'm not mad with you, but I wasn't ready for this. I need to go. I need to think. Okay?" He pleaded and despite the lump in her stomach she nodded watching him walk away.

Emma went home, feeling crappier than she had in a long time. Killian had said he wasn't mad but Emma couldn't shake the feeling that he was hurt.

When she got home, she filled the tub and tried to calm her nervous stomach with a hot bath, but her mind was filled with the sadness she saw in Killian's eyes. Thank God Henry was having a movie night at Regina's. She was in no mood to explain her son why she was, well in a bad mood…

After a few hours laying in the cough with ice cream and Netflix Emma noticed it was getting dark outside. _'Maybe I should go to sleep. To try and sleep at least…'_ she thought knowing that her dreams would be haunted by Killian sad expression. The knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts. Frowning, she went to open it, only to be surprised when she did

"Killian" she whispered

"Hey Swan, can I come in?" He asked gently with a still sad smile on his lips

"Sure" she replied as she opened the door to her house "Henry is at Regina's for the night, so it's just us" she said nervously

He nodded and sat down on the couch. They stayed like that for a moment. Emma standing next to the kitchen island and Killian in the couch looking at the floor. Neither of them spoke a word.

Killian was the first to break the silence "Look Emma, I'm sorry for the way I left today. You just caught me off guard" He explained still looking at the floor.

"It's okay, I get it. Honestly I was expecting you to just shout at me and never wanting to see me again" She explained like she was fine with it- she was doing a crap job at it- walking to sit on the chair next to the couch.

He looked at her with a fire in his eyes "I meant it Emma when I said it was an honor to be your friend. You may not trust me just yet but I'm not going to bolt when things get hard. Life is hard, I know that all too well…" he stated making sure that Emma saw the honesty on his eyes before he let them fell to the floor once again.

"I did a lot of thinking this last few hours and I want to tell you. Want to tell you all of it" he said quietly.

Emma squeezed his knee letting her hand stay there for reassurance "you don't have to" Emma said but he shook his head

"No, I want to tell you. I never meant to keep it from you, I just wasn't expecting it to come up the way it did." He said firmly

"Okay, I'll listen, but you'll only tell me what you want to" she said

"I'll have to start from the beginning. I was born in London into a middle class family. I had a brother, Liam, 10 years older than me. My mom and my dad were the perfect couple, completely in love with one another. However my mother had a heart problem that only got worse when she got pregnant of me, the doctors even told her that she had little chance of surviving if she didn't interrupted the pregnancy, but she wouldn't give me up. Her pregnancy was spent almost entirely lying in bed. She survived, but her heart didn't improve. Most of the memories I have of her, she looked so fragile lying on her bed… but she always had a smile on her face for us, and she always told us that she would got better. We knew it wasn't likely but we had hope. Liam and I were best friends and he taught everything I know, because my father worked so much. He was the captain of merchandise ship, so he was always at sea. But we were a happy family. On Liam was 16 he joined the navy and I spent most of my time trying to make sure my mother was okay. When I was seven, she just died. Liam was too far away to come to the funeral, so it was just me and my dad." Killian stopped talking trying to find the words "After that my dad became a completely different person. He blamed me for my mother's death witch he reminded me every night when he would come home drunk and would beat me up. That's why I learned to fight, to protect myself from him, but I never could fight him back, just defend myself. Once beating me up stopped being a good scape system he just left. Came home from school one day and he was gone. I lived by myself for a little while, sending letters to Liam telling him everything was fine because I didn't want to be a burden to him. However when Liam came home he found out the truth and almost slapped me for being so stupid. After that Liam got out of the navy and started to work on a shipyard. He was 18 so he took guardianship and made sure I could be a kid again. Life was good until I turned 17. I fell in love with an older woman, Milah, she used to come to the fish store I worked part-time. She seduced me and I was blind, flattered by the fact that an attractive older woman liked me. She was my first everything. Every waking moment I wasn't at school or working I was with her. We never talked about our families but she told me she loved me and I thought I loved her too. Liam knew I was seeing someone but he thought it was someone from school. When I was 18 I got accepted at Cambridge and I asked her to move in with me but she just laughed in my face. She told me she had a husband and a kid, but her husband was always traveling for business and her son was at boarding school so she got bored. She told me that now that I was leaving she just had to find someone else to pass the time. I was such a full for thinking that she loved me…" he trailed off

"Hey, it's okay Killian" Emma said softly, somehow during his story she had moved to sit next to him "You don't have to continue" She assured him

"No, I'm fine" He said pulling himself together before continuing "After that I started drinking and getting into fights. I wanted the stop the pain even just for a few moments. One night I was in the middle of a bar fight when the cops came. Liam bailed me out the next morning and the charges were dropped but it was enough to get me kicked out of Cambridge. Liam was furious… He demanded to know what the hell was happening to me. I saw the disappointment in his eyes and I just broke down, I told him everything and he just hold me. After that he said that if I wanted to fight so much, then I should learn how to do it properly. I started working on a gym, and with some of my salary I learned how to fight. I become really good and in less than a year I was in the professional league. I was making good money and Liam and I were plaining to buy a ship and do tours. We wanted to build a company around it. Three years ago we had almost enough money and were already looking at boats. Liam was driving me home after a match, we were happy, talking about the company. Last thing I knew I was in an hospital and Liam was dead, drunk driver killed him on impact. I had a small nerve damage in my left hand, small enough I can still fight but big enough that I couldn't compete. It was okay anyway, by that point I was only fighting for the money and not to let go of the anger. Liam would want me to be happy, so I took the money we saved and used some of it to by the gym, the rest was for the International Drunk Driving Prevention Association. I needed to get out of England though, so when I searched for a quiet town with a low crime rate and close to the see, I came across Storybrook." He said finishing his story and by then I had tears running down my face.

Killian, finally looked up and Emma saw the unshed tears in his eyes.

"I would say I was sorry but I know that it doesn't make it better. I feel like I should tell you my story now, but I can't Killian, not right now, I'm sorry" Emma said hiding her face in her eyes. Killian pulled her to him, hugging her close.

"I know Emma, it's okay" he said laying back on the couch letting Emma's Head rest on his shoulder "You'll tell me when you are ready. I wanted to share my story with you. I want you to learn to trust me, and I couldn't do that not telling you the truth" he whispered

"Thank you" She said kissing his cheek and placing her head again on his shoulder "Do you want to watch a movie?" She asked and he nodded. They stayed like that for a moment, none of them paying attention to the movie

"Killian?" Emma asked one hour latter

"huh?" He replied not moving. Emma pulled away so she could look at him and said the thing that she just knew it was true "Things will be better from now on." She said and he looked at her with light in his eyes "I think you're right lass" he said with a smile "I think you're right" he repeated kissing her forehead and pulling her back against his shoulder.

And that was how Henry and Regina found them the next morning.


End file.
